Silver Linings
by Dresupi
Summary: My collection of prompts, one-shots and drabbles. All set within the same headcanon universe as my other fics, Crimson & Clover and Green Eyes. Warnings (if any) will appear at the top of each story.
1. Agent Powell's Proposal

**A/N at the end. :) Song for this story is 'Someday' by Nickelback. Just because I think a d-bag like Zeke would like Nickelback. :P This is set about 4 years before the start of my other story, Crimson & Clover, which you should read if you haven't already. This one won't make sense if you haven't. ;) Zeke has a potty mouth. F-bomb alert.**

* * *

**Zeke**

"Why do you have to go to the dean's office?" Greg asked, sweaty and out of breath from their run around the track.

"Shhiiiiit, I dunno. I hope I didn't miss a class or somethin'. I'm ready to be OUT. I'm moving onto Quantico next month," said Zeke, toweling off his face and neck.

"Alice is gonna be piiissssed if you don't graduate…" teased Greg.

"I know, I know," Zeke said.

"I don't let my girl control me like that, bro."

"Al doesn't control me!" Zeke exclaimed, offended. "She's just…worried. She's always worryin'."

"Still…"

Zeke rolled his eyes. Truth be told, it was nice to have someone worry about him. Alice was pretty much the best thing that happened to him. Without her, he wouldn't be graduating at the top of his class for Criminal Justice (he probably wouldn't have graduated at all). He definitely wouldn't have passed the entrance into the FBI academy. Nope, he'd probably be swilling beer back home, working some thankless 9 to 5 in order to pay for it. The curse of the Powell men. Al was a good influence, even if she was kind of a nag.

He finished toweling off and headed for the showers. He dressed quickly and started to run to the dean's office.

He'd cut his run short when the Al had called him. The dean's office had called the apartment multiple times looking for him. She was cluckin' like a mother hen by the time she got ahold of him.

_"But…what if you forgot a class, Zeke? You'll have to come back over the summer, or worse: in the fall!"_

_"Calm down, Al. I didn't forget anything. My advisor went over everything with me multiple times. YOU were there. Everything's fine with my credits." _

_"What about your grades? Could you have failed something? Criminal Law? That teacher had it out for you." _

_"Yeah, glad I don't have to see that bitch again." _

_"Zeke…I wish you wouldn't use that word. That's what got you in trouble in the first place…" _

_"Aw, come off it, Al. I call 'em like I see 'em." _

_"Still, Zeke, it's hurtful. You understand that it's hurtful, right?" _

_"She was hurtful to me! She wouldn't accept my paper!" _

_"It was a week late, Zeke…" _

_"Whose side are you on, Al?" _

_"Yours, hon. I was just…" _

_"You were just arguin'. You love to argue with me." _

_She chuckled, "You know it." _

_"Well, I'll cut my run short, if it will make YOU rest easy." _

_"It will. And thank you." _

_"I gotta get in better shape by the end of the month, Al. They're gonna kick my ass at the Academy."_

_"I know, Zeke… it's just…this is kinda important."_

_"It's probably just something about my honors. I still haven't gotten my stole. That's all it is."_

_"I'm sure that's all it is…"_

_"If Dean Nash hands me a damn stole and I cut my run short for no reason, I'm gonna come home and YOU can give me a workout." _

_Alice laughed, "Deal."_

He chuckled as he jogged across the campus. Maybe he'd go home anyway. He still needed to wind down from finals week. If she was home at this time of day, she wasn't doing anything important.

He approached the Criminal Justice building. He had to get up to the 3rd floor, where the Dean of the Department had his office. Dean Nash was an old shit. Old black man with wobbly jowls. Probably hadn't actively participated in any kind of justice in decades.

He ran up the stairs, taking them two at a time until he got to the 3rd floor of the building. The receptionist was sitting at the desk. She was hot. Blonde. Nash certainly didn't keep her around for her filing skills, the old perv. She was technically the receptionist for the Dean, and all the advisors whose offices were on this floor, Zeke's included.

"Hey there, Bethany. How are you doin', sweet girl?" Zeke drawled, pausing at the desk.

"Oh, I'm real busy, tryin' to get all this filing done before the end of the week."

"Get to it, girl. I don't wanna be stuck here next semester on your account," he teased.

She giggled, "Zeke, you still datin' that redhead?"

"Alice? Yeah, we're still going together."

"Darn. I was hopin' you could go out and get drinks with me and my friends this weekend…"

"I might could still go. Al works on Saturday nights," he grinned.

_Nothing wrong with some flirting. Not like I'm gonna do anything about it. _

"I don't want you to get sent to the doghouse, Zeke."

"Nah. I'm always a good boy," he winked.

"Okay…if you're sure…do you have my number?"

"Nope, I'll just give you mine," he grabbed her hand and a pen. He scrawled his number on the back of her hand with his name. "Text me or somethin'," he drawled. "Talk to ya later, Bethany."

He'd been here enough during the past few years: getting his summer classes in order, straightening out that misunderstanding with that bitch Criminal Law instructor. Alice had helped with that one, actually. He didn't know what she said, but she got that Hairy Pits Feminist to back down off him.

The whole thing was a huge mistake. He'd been talking with his buddies outside of class. She'd walked up and handed back a paper he'd just turned in with a big fat 'F' on the front page. She hadn't even cracked the seal on the outside, so he knew she didn't look at it. Sure it had been a week late, but seriously. That bitch acted like everything revolved around her. That her class was the only fucking thing he had to worry about. Of course, it was one of the last credits he needed to graduate. Of course it was the most boring ass shit in the free world. Of course the teacher was a Grade A Bitch, which is of course what he said to his friends. To. His. Friends. Not to her. The fact that she was standing there listening like a creeper didn't even matter, apparently. Of course, when he brought down the swift hammer of the 1st amendment, shit started to get real.

Alice had swooped in. Saved the day. He didn't know what she said to that Femi-Nazi to make her shut up, but she said something.

It still pissed him off thinking about that. He shook the thought out of his head. He knocked on the door to Dean Nash's office.

"Come in, Powell," he heard immediately.

_What, is he waiting for me? I've got a bad feeling about this…_

He opened the door. The dean was sitting behind his desk, but he wasn't alone. There was a man seated in front of the desk. He turned when Zeke walked in. He was wearing a black suit. He was rather non-descript, average height, average build, brown hair, slightly receding hairline. He was shorter than Zeke so when he stood to shake his hand, Zeke had to look down.

"Ezekiel Powell, I'm Agent Phil Coulson, FBI Liaison," he showed his credentials quickly, too quickly for Zeke to see them properly. "I was hoping to speak with you privately about your future move to Quantico."

Zeke frowned. He'd already spoken to an FBI liaison. That woman. The hot one with the big rack. "I've already spoken to someone on that regard, sir."

"This is just a follow up," Coulson assured him with a smile.

There was something fishy about this guy. He didn't strike Zeke as the FBI type. Too squirrelly. Not that he was fidgety or anything. Just squirrelly like…weird. He was rigid. He sat with his back straight. He barely blinked. Kept looking at his watch. Maybe didn't want to be here.

Zeke looked at Dean Nash, who shrugged and nodded.

He turned back to the liaison, "That's fine, sir."

"I'll just let you have the room, agent," Nash stood and waddled from the room. Dude had gotten massive.

That was weird. The other liaison had met with him in an empty classroom. He remembered because she'd sat behind an instructor's podium and Zeke and propped himself up against the desk at the front of the room. He'd spent most of the time she was talking sneaking peeks at her cleavage. She had her FBI standard issue pants suit, but she'd unbuttoned the white top down to the third button. Maybe it had been an accident. Hill was her name. Agent Maria Hill. He'd never forget the name that went with that rack.

Once the door was shut, Coulson turned towards Zeke, pulling a file out of his coat, he flipped it open.

"You're not with the FBI, are you?" Zeke asked warily. It was a long shot, but he figured he'd like to try to be the guy on top here. Not the one taking it.

Coulson read from the file, "Ezekiel Powell. Mediocre high school student from Chattanooga, family history of alcoholism and domestic abuse, almost flunked out of your first semester here at Tennessee University, academic probation, pulled yourself out of the slump to become the top of your class, Criminal Justice major, already accepted into the FBI training program at the academy in Quantico…a real rags to riches story. Cinderella."

Zeke stiffened. Hearing his entire adult life condensed down to a few sentences was a humbling experience. What right did this douche have to trivialize anything he had done? He'd worked hard to get to where he was, and he'd be damned if this little midget was going to make fun of him.

He opened his mouth to speak, but Coulson raised his hand to silence him. "No time for retorts, Powell. I'm not here to challenge you to a battle of wits. I'm here to make you an offer."

Zeke narrowed his eyes, crossing his arms. He remained silent.

"Have you ever heard of SHIELD, son?"

Zeke stared blankly at the agent, "SHIELD, sir?"

"Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division."

Zeke maintained the blank stare.

"I'll take that as a firm 'no'," Coulson said. "It's a top secret security organization."

_I seriously do not have time for this shit._

"You said something about an offer?" Zeke asked disinterestedly.

"We'd like to offer you training and a job as an agent of SHIELD."

_Holy Shit._

"I've already been accepted to the FBI Academy and I leave for Quantico next month," said Zeke. Coulson had just brought that up. Did he think he was poaching him from the FBI? Think again, douche.

"That can easily be taken care of," said Coulson.

Zeke chuckled, "I've never heard of SHIELD before in my life, how do I know you're not yankin' me? Sir?" He added the 'sir' at the end as an afterthought.

Coulson pulled another file out of his coat. He handed it to Zeke. He took it and opened it.  
He took a deep breath, not really sure what he was getting into. It was a case study of a man, it looked like. A normal looking man except for his white hair. And the fact that he could run freaking fast. Faster than the speed of sound fast.

_What the fuck? This can't be real. This is some straight up comic book shit…_

He shot a bewildered look at Coulson.

"Peter Maximoff. Better known as Quicksilver," the agent explained.

"Is he—"

"Real? Yes, quite real. There are many others like him. See, we work with the paranormal."

"Ghosts?" Zeke closed the file, sliding it across the desk to Coulson.

"No, the paranormal…the extraordinary…the superhuman."

"Are you trying to tell me that…"

"Ever heard of Iron Man?"

"Tony Stark? Yeah, I've heard of him."

Coulson whipped out his phone, displaying a picture of himself and Tony Stark at some kind of party.

"You're friends with Tony Stark?" asked Zeke, impressed.

"Eh…he wouldn't use that word. I check in on him time and again."

"So, you work with…"

"Superheroes, yes."

"Do you normally poach rookies from other government agencies?" asked Zeke.

"Director Fury wants you in the ranks. If the director wants you in the ranks, you're in."

"Why does he want me?"

"I don't know. You're a womanizer, you have drinking problems, a family history of racism, violence, alcoholism, and you have zero work ethic."

Zeke exploded, "Well, what the fuck are you doing here, if I'm such a piece of trash that you can even stand to be civil to me during what I imagine is a job interview?"

"SHIELD Director Nick Fury wants you. I don't question my superior's motives. I only do what I'm instructed."

Zeke was fuming, "So, I don't have a choice, then?"

"You have a choice. If you were to breathe a word of this to anyone, no one would believe you."

Zeke exhaled loudly, his nostrils flaring.

"It's a good job. Interesting. Field work if you want it. Pays VERY well," Coulson handed him a stack of papers. Zeke flipped through them, noting the starting salary and the benefits as much better than the FBI.

"Of course, it IS in New York City. We'd pay your moving expenses."

"When would I start?"

"Immediately. Middle of next week, you'd go to orientation and begin your training, all paid, of course."

Zeke was schooling his features, trying not to let on how impressed he was with the job despite wanting to punch Agent Coulson in the face.

"I have to make a decision today?" he asked.

"Oh no. Take your time. I'll leave my card." He handed Zeke a business card. He looked at the card. No name. Just a number scrawled on the back of a restaurant business card. "Give me a call when you decide, I need an answer by Monday …oh and before I go…"

Zeke looked up.

"Alice Vorso…"

_How the hell does he know about Alice?_

"That's my girlfriend…how do you—?"

"I think you'd be surprised by how much information is available on the internet… will she be moving to New York with you, in the event you accept this position?"

"Uh…we haven't really discussed anything like that."

_Fucking creeper._

"If she does, we'll have to do a full background check on her. You understand, of course."

"Yeah, yeah."

"Right, just wanted to clarify," Coulson sighed, standing up. He waited for Zeke to stand. "Give me a call when you've made your decision," he stuck out his hand to shake.

Zeke took it, gripping firmly. Coulson's grip was harder.

Zeke nodded cordially and got up to leave, jamming the card in his pocket.

He did not like that douchebag Coulson. He knew that much. Of course, one douchebag didn't mean that the rest of the organization was like that. He guessed to move that far up, you'd have to be some kind of a dickhead. That file about that guy…Maximoff? That was interesting. If he'd be working with people like that…field work. Field work if he wanted it. It would be years before he'd be ready for field work with the FBI. And the pay…the pay was substantial. It was more than the starter pay for an FBI agent. And the work sounded more interesting than a desk job."

He wasn't sure what to think. He went back to the gym to run for a while and to think it through before he took the news back to Alice.

* * *

Alice was sitting on the couch when he got home. She jumped up and tripped, bumping her leg on the coffee table. She was such a damn klutz. She could trip just standing there. It was embarrassing when it happened out in public. What the hell did she have to be nervous about all the time?

"Zeke, what happened, are you still going to graduate? Is everything okay?" she asked, rubbing her shin and hopping towards him. That was an accident waiting to happen.

"Al, calm down, babe," he crossed the floor quickly. "Everything's fine," he pecked her cheek. "Don't hurt yourself."

She was always so worried about him. For all her faults, she was a good girlfriend. She kept the apartment spotless. Kept her hippie bullshit to a minimum.

He'd finally gotten her to get rid of that hookah. It stunk. It was the last of the hippie nonsense that he'd slowly gotten rid of. Stuff she'd brought with her from her dorm when she moved in here. The curtains, the bedspread, she'd taken most of it back home with her when she'd visited her grandparents over Christmas. Thankfully, he'd gotten out of going with her. He couldn't stand her grandfather. He was a Vietnam war veteran with a penchant for pot. Not that he could prove it. And Al would kick his ass to the curb if he tried to turn 'Pops' in.

She'd have suckered him into going to that stupid piano bar. That bar where everyone knew her and loved her and constantly asked if she was doing anything with her music, all the while shooting HIM dirty looks. Like he was the bad guy for helping her. For showing her that music was a hobby, not a career. For helping her use her interest to choose a more mature profession.

Now if he could just convince her to stop wearing all the weird clothes. He despised all the loose skirts, the weird fabrics and colors. She had a smoking hot body, but she hid it under those clothes. She got mad at him every time he said something, but he was only trying to help her. She'd get farther if she'd just dress like a real person.

Today's ensemble included a huge off-the shoulder top made of some kind of gauzy material. She had on a pair of what looked like terry cloth shorts underneath. And nothing else. Now…it was kind of hot that she walked around without a bra when they were at home, but he kind of wished she'd have some thought to the future. If she walked around without a bra now, her boobs would be saggy by the time she was 30. He didn't want to pay for plastic surgery OR live with a saggy-boobed woman either.

"What? What happened?" she asked, confused.

"It was some guy from…" he trailed off, not knowing how to explain this to her. "SHIELD?" he said, shrugging.

"SHIELD? What's SHIELD?" she asked, frowning. Her nose wrinkled in that cute way it did. She really WAS pretty. It was under there. If she'd put on make-up, and cut and style her hair, AND wear more flattering clothes, she'd be a knockout.

"Another government agency… they want to poach me from the FBI."

"Poach you? That's good, right? They were impressed with you?" she asked excitedly.

Leave it to Alice to put a good spin on absolutely everything. She was almost TOO positive sometimes. She once put a positive spin on losing her job at the university bookstore. She said that she was glad to have more time to study. It was annoying to be around someone like that.

"Yeah, I suppose so," he chuckled.

"Are you going to go?"

"I'm thinking about it…it's in New York City, and they'd be paying me. More than I'd ever make with the FBI, that's for sure."

"You should do it, Zeke! It sounds like an amazing opportunity!" she squealed.

He shrugged, "I guess."

"What?"

"I dunno, Al," he stopped talking for a minute, staring at her. "Come sit on the couch with me, babe."

"Okay?" she said, sounding surprised. She never knew what was going on. At least it made it easy to surprise her.

They sat on the couch. He looked at her. Took her small hand in his. "Would you move to New York with me if I took the job?"

"What?"

"You know…come LIVE with me there?"

"Like, what? Get an apartment and live together? Or move there and live separately?"

"Live together, dork." God, she was dense sometimes.

"Oh!" she laughed for a moment. "Um…actually, I got some news today too."

"Oh, really?"

He could tell by her tone that he wouldn't like this news.

"Yeah…that company I talked to at the job fair last month? They offered me a job! It's entry level, but they created it just for me! It's amazing, pays really well. I'd be working with musicians and artists from all over…"

"Awesome, babe!" He sensed there was more to this announcement, though.

"It's in L.A.," she said, smiling uncomfortably.

"As in California?" he asked, in disbelief.

"Yeah."

"Well…California's a long way from Quantico…long way from New York too."

_She was planning to move away from me? We'd discussed her moving to Richmond to be fairly close to me in Quantico. She was just making other plans without discussing it with me?_

"Yeah, but I figured…we aren't serious or anything, right? I mean, we've been dating a while, but we've never talked about the future at all, Zeke...I know we mentioned me moving to Richmond…but there weren't any concrete plans made. I mean, if we were gettin' MARRIED or something, maybe I'd consider moving with you, but…" she trailed off. "You see what I'm sayin', right?"

"Yeah. Yeah, yeah. I see what you're sayin'."

_No, I don't see what she is saying. She SAID that she is moving to Richmond. Just because she hasn't found a place to live yet isn't my problem. That is the plan. She can't just change her mind without talking to me first! What kind of girlfriend does that?_

She smiled sadly. "They're both amazing opportunities, Zeke. Once in a lifetime. We'd be stupid not to take them."

He nodded, "Yeah, you're right."

_There's music in New York, too. What the fuck is the problem here? MY job offer is once in a lifetime. Hers is negotiable. _

He pulled her close, hugging her tightly.

"We okay?" she asked, her voice muffled by his shoulder.

"Yeah, we're okay."

They weren't. But they would be. He was already forming a plan.

* * *

The graduation had gone well. They'd both graduated with honors. Zeke got to give a little speech. Alice got all her awards and her diploma. There were pictures, tons of pictures. So many pictures. Zeke suggested that they go out to eat. Probably should have made a reservation, but oh well. Hindsight's 20/20.

Everyone was here. At Chili's. AKA, the only place they could get a table for 20 with such a short notice. His parents were here, sisters, brother, all the nieces and nephews. And Alice's grandparents. If it had been up to him, they wouldn't have been there. But, Alice loved them, so whatever.

He was kind of embarrassed of them. Alice too, sometimes. Seriously, couldn't she dress like an adult? Everything had to be made out of natural fabrics and fit loosely? At least she listened to him about the graduation dress. She looked great. For once. She'd even fixed her hair and put on make-up. She looked practically stunning.

He didn't know where she'd be if she didn't have him. They'd helped each other.

That's why they needed to try to work this out. They needed to be together. He wasn't sure he could do it without her. He knew she'd probably fit right in out there in L.A. Lots of hippie idiots out there. But, she was so much better than that. She was gorgeous, when she made herself up and tried. She could be so much more. He'd help her. She'd help him. They'd work. They would.

Everyone ordered their food. They ordered drinks too. At least his family did. He didn't think Alice's family drank. What was the point? They had all smoked weed, what was wrong with alcohol? Another thing that annoyed him. They owned a bar, but didn't drink? Did they think they were BETTER than people who drank or something? Irritating.

Zeke was nervous. This had to work. He hoped it would work. He had to give his answer to Coulson, and he really wanted Alice to come with him when he left on Tuesday. That was four days away…not much time to pack up all her shit.

He took a deep breath. He couldn't let nerves get the better of him. This was the right time. Everyone was here. She couldn't say no. Not in front of the entire restaurant. Not in front of his little niece that she loved so much. Not in front of everyone in his family and her grandparents.

He didn't have a ring, but that wasn't important. What was important was that everyone saw that he was willing to commit to her. Everyone had to see. She'd have to see if everyone else did.

She claimed she didn't like big spectacles. Whatever. She was probably lying. This was how proposals were done. What was the point of proposing if no one saw?

He tapped his fork on his beer glass. Everyone looked up. He stood, smiling.

"I'd like to thank everyone for being here today. I truly am blessed with a loving and proud family." His brothers whooped. He continued, "I think we all know I wouldn't be here if it weren't for this lovely lady beside me," he gestured to Alice. She blushed and grinned, shaking her head.

"Oh, come on, hon. You know you were the driving force that got me here. Got me to the point where I can accept a great job in New York. Where I graduate with honors at the top of my class. Thank you, darlin'." She blushed again, looking down.

"Stand up with me, Al." He pulled her to her feet, she almost didn't stand. "You look so beautiful," he smiled because he meant it. She did.

He knelt, taking her hand in his. "Alice Louise Vorso, will you do me the incredible honor, of promising to be my wife?"

His mother and sisters shrieked in delight. The males in his family resumed their whooping. Everyone in the entire restaurant was looking at them, waiting with bated breath for Alice's response.

She blushed darker, looking around. She bit her lip, a tear slipping down her cheek. She nodded.

"You will?"

She nodded again, unable to speak, apparently. Fine with him. He got the yes.

"She said yes!" he cried. And the restaurant erupted into applause. Alice hid her face. She loved the attention, even if she said she didn't. She did. He knew girls. Girls said one thing, but expected another.

He looked around. Even her grandparents were smiling and clapping. Good. Everyone was happy. This was perfect. His life was perfect. Alice would come to New York. She could find as good a job there as L.A. He smiled and kissed her on the lips, she molded to the front of him, feeling light and malleable.

Right now, he was on top of the world.

* * *

**Author's Note: **

**Right, so I had a really hard time writing this. It put me in a foul mood for days. Zeke is just so caustic and I'm used to writing Alice and Bruce. Brulice. 3 Anyway, this story was a result of a prompt from Tumblr, and it's a prequel of sorts. I was asked if Zeke ever really loved Alice and ever actually wanted to marry her. I think Zeke is a terribly complex character. I think to some extent and as much as he is able, he cares about and even loves Alice. But, it's not the same way normal people do.  
Zeke is based on a real person and believe it or not, I made him nicer than the actual person he's based on. Wrap your mind around that.**

**It was also hard for me to write this without giving away too many spoilers. Let's suffice it to say that Coulson can't stand Zeke. SHIELD needs him for something...but what? (Also, just in case you didn't catch it, they sent Maria Hill in first to test the water. That meeting probably explains Coulson's dislike for Zeke.)**

**Anywho, I hope you enjoyed it! I probably won't be writing much Zeke for a while. If ever again.**

**As always, I don't own any of the Marvel Universe, but I do own Alice and Zeke. Check out my other story, Crimson & Clover if you haven't already. It will probably explain a LOT of this one that you probably didn't understand.**


	2. Laundry Day

**A/N at the end, :). This is a tumblr prompt. Conservatively rated T for the mentions of panties. :P May contain spoilers for my other fic, if you aren't caught up to at least chapter 19.**

* * *

**Bruce**

"Hey, I'm going to go to the grocery store. Wanna come with me?" asked Alice, bumping her hip into his desk chair. He swiveled in the seat to face her.

"You do realize that Tony has a grocery service deliver every week, right?"

"Yeah, but I need some strawberries. I don't trust a grocery service to send me ripe strawberries and not crush them," she explained, sitting down on the edge of his desk.

"Why do you need strawberries?" asked Bruce off-handedly.

"I was going to make strawberry shortcakes. Remember?"

"Oh right."

"Did you want to come with me or not?"

"Not," he said definitively.

She pouted, sticking her bottom lip out slightly.

His heart melted a little, but it didn't change his mind.

"I don't like New York City crowds…I'm sorry…" he folded his arms and sat back in the chair.

She added a frown to her pout.

_Aww…_

"You're adorable," he said, standing and placing his hands on either side of where she was sitting, leaning towards her. "I don't think I'm ready to go out yet. I don't want something to happen. What if you're not able to handle it?" he kissed her softly.

She sighed, "Okay, fine." She kissed him back, "Will you do me a favor, though?"

"Anything, name it and it's yours."

She grinned crookedly, "I started laundry upstairs. Can you fold the stuff in the dryer so it doesn't get wrinkled? It's just a load of whites."

"I'm fairly certain I can handle that."

"Okay, it's going to be done in about 20 minutes so…"

"Okay, I get it. I'll leave now," he assured her. He straightened and started gathering his things into his bag.

"Thank you. I'll put it away and everything. I just didn't want to have to run the dryer again. It heats up the apartment."

"I'll take care of it. See you soon?"

"Yeah, soon," she stood on her tiptoes to kiss him again. "Miss you already."

He smiled, "Me too."

She turned to leave, waving over her shoulder.

Bruce shut down his computer. He shouldered his bag and left for the apartment. It was a little earlier than he usually left. He was making a habit out of breaking his routine. It didn't bother him as much as he previously thought it would.

Once he got home, he dropped his bag off on the counter in the kitchen.

He immediately went to the laundry room and noticed that the dryer was still running. He took a few minutes to look around the room. It was kind of humorous how obvious it was that a woman lived here now. She bought fabric softener, which he never bought. It smelled like lavender. By extension, his clothes smelled like lavender. Something Tony never failed to bring up. Why he insisted on smelling him was a mystery.

Alice ironed his shirts now. His slacks too. Everything was pressed and folded in his dresser or hanging in the closet. He didn't ask her to, she just did it. He actually HAD told her numerous times that she didn't have to do anything like that for him, but she insisted.

She claimed she was bored, that her lack of work was making her stir crazy. He had a sneaking suspicion that she would do it whether she was working or not.

It made him nervous, though. He wanted to do things for her, but when he got home, everything was already done.

He was secretly thrilled to be able to help her with the laundry.

The dryer dinged. Bruce loaded the warm, dry clothes into a basket he'd retrieved from the top of it.

He took them out into the living room and sat down to fold them. He pulled out the first item, one of his undershirts. He folded it and set it aside.

He pulled out the next garment: a pair of Alice's white cotton panties. He widened his eyes in surprise just as he heard her keys in the door.

He froze, unable to move for a moment.

_She's going to think you're a pervert. You're just holding them in front of you. _

"I left my wallet…had to come back for it," she laughed, dropping her purse on the counter.

She stopped, a sly grin spreading across her face.

"Whatcha doin' with my panties?" she asked.

"I—I wasn't sniffing them, that's for sure…" Bruce stammered.

_What the hell was that?_

"I didn't think you were…" she giggled, "I do NOW."

She crossed the floor to where he was sitting.

He was still holding them in front of him. He dropped them into his lap.

"Do I—Should I fold them or do YOU want to handle them?"

"I'm sorry. I didn't realize that my panties would cause you to have an aneurism. I'll handle them, if you're not capable…" she teased, reaching for them.

He yanked them back, "I can HANDLE your panties, Alice."

He cringed inwardly after he finished speaking.

"Bruce…" Alice bit her lip thoughtfully, "are you sure that was the BEST way to word that sentence?"

"As I was saying it…" he trailed off and shook his head, resolving to just drop it. "Do I fold them?"

"No, just pile them up and I'll throw them in the drawer," she smirked, crossing her legs to sit on the floor with him. He folded a towel and set it to the side.

She reached for it, "If you don't mind…" she unfolded it and quickly refolded it in a slightly different way. It was more of a roll now, not so flat.

"But that's not the most efficient way to fold them," he argued. "That way makes them too fat to fit more than 3 high on the shelves in the bathroom cabinet. If you fold it my way, you can fit 6 high on the shelves. We could have 30 towels in that cabinet if we fold them my way."

"Why would we EVER need 30 towels? We have a dozen and there are only two of us."

"Well…you use 2 a day, why, I don't know…"

"One's for my hair!" she protested.

"Why does your hair needs its own towel? Why can't you use the one you dry your body with?"

"Bruce…have you seen my hair?" she tugged a few long wavy strands out from the side of her head. "It takes forever to dry."

"Point taken," he conceded, picking up another towel to fold. He mimicked the way she folded towels, which earned him a smile of approval. He would have folded them into swans if that's what she wanted from him. He continued on his previous thought, "I use one towel a day, you use two. That's 3 towels a day and we're out by the fourth day. If we have 30 towels, we have enough for a week and a half."

"I do laundry every other day, so that's not an issue," she laughed.

"If we had more towels, you wouldn't have to do it as often."

"Yeah, but when I did do it, it would take 3 times as long."

"True…but not as often," he interjected.

"I like the system we have now…"

"Fine, fine. Just trying to help you," he sighed.

"You really don't like me doing housework, do you?"

He really didn't. He didn't want her to feel like she HAD to take care of him or that he expected those things from her.

"It's just…you don't HAVE to. There's a cleaning crew who can do all of that."

"What do you want me to do? Sit around and eat bon bons all day?"

"Well…I just don't want you to feel like I'm taking advantage of you or anything…" he said quietly.

"I don't feel that way. Do YOU feel that way?" she asked.

"I feel like YOU feel obligated to take care of me…"

"I don't. I WANT to take care of you. Because I love you."

"Really?"

"Yes, DORK. I love your dorky face and you're so cute that I want to iron your clothes and feed you and bathe you and pet your hair."

Bruce blushed, trying and failing to hold back a smile.

"Just like I'm sure you want to take care of me," she continued.

"I do, I just don't know how. You do everything before I get home."

"Sorry…" she grinned.

"I guess I'll have to be more imaginative."

She finished folding the last towel. She picked up a stack of towels and stood, intending to take them to the bathroom.

As she walked, she kicked the coffee table and dropped the stack of towels onto the floor. She swore quietly and knelt to inspect her foot.

"Are you okay?" Bruce stood quickly, crossed the room and knelt down next to her.

"Yeah…I just stubbed my toe…it really hurt…" she sat back hard on the floor.

"Want me to kiss it?" he teased.

She poked her foot up towards his face. "Kiss it! Kiss my foot, Bruce!"

"I will, keep it up,"

"Eww… don't do that. Kiss my face instead."

"I love kissing your face…" he sat on the floor beside her, leaning over her and pressing his lips to hers, feeling her arms sneak up around his neck.

"I need to…refold…the towels…" she said between kisses.

"I'll do it. You should rest. This injury looks serious," he quipped, kissing her again.

She fought back a grin, her arms still around his neck.

He transitioned smoothly from sitting to standing, lifting her up with him.

She squealed and held on tighter, "I can walk, Bruce!"

"Apparently not, I wouldn't want you to stub your toe again."

"So what? You're gonna carry me around all the time now?"

"Where to?"

"I still need to go to the store…"

"Nonsense, not while you're so direly injured."

She rolled her eyes, "What are we having for dinner, then?"

"I'll handle it. Where to?" he repeated.

"The couch, I guess," she said complacently.

"Just to the couch? Geez, seems like you could have gotten yourself there…" he grinned mischievously.

She swatted his arm as he gently deposited her on the couch.

She stayed there while he put away all the clothes, only trying to get up once so he wouldn't have to make two trips.

He went out to the kitchen and she wandered out to sit on a stool by the counter.

"What are you making?" she asked.

"Coconut Curry and rice," he replied, glancing up at her, "Don't wrinkle your nose, you've never tried it."

"I wasn't wrinkling my nose…" she said, her nose clearly wrinkled.

He smirked, "Just try it and if you don't like it, you can order anything you want and I'll never make you try anything new ever again. This week."

"Fine, I'm holding you to that," said Alice. "Do you need any help?"

"Nope, it's only five ingredients, not including the rice."

"So…six ingredients?"

"Well, the rice isn't really part of the curry. The curry is five ingredients and you just serve it on the rice."

"Oh."

She watched him silently. This was actually something he had eaten frequently when he lived in India and had to cook for himself. Since he'd moved to Stark Tower, he'd gotten lazy and ate out a lot.

He set the bowl down in front of Alice after he'd finished cooking.

She poked at a chick pea with her fork. "Is it spicy?" she asked.

"Red curry paste is made with dried red chili peppers, so it's not as hot as green curry. It has a kick, though."

She nodded, scooping some onto her fork and tasting it tentatively. She raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Well…that's pretty good, actually…"

Bruce felt the corners of his mouth pulling upward as he watched her take a bit more on her fork.

"And there's no meat in this…that's crazy," she mused.

After they'd finished eating and had done the dishes, she cuddled up to him on the couch.

"Can we watch a movie or something?"

"Sure, whatever you want."

"You're going to spoil me, Bruce."

He smiled, pressing a kiss into her hair, "I hope so."

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**This is set in the same universe as my other fic, Crimson & Clover. If you haven't read that one, you won't understand what's going on here. The timeline for this one is anywhere after chapter 19 of C&C.**

**This came from a prompt from qu33nbeee on tumblr.**

**As always, I don't own any part of the Marvel Universe. However, I do own Alice.**

**Favorite/Review if you feel so inclined. Don't forget to follow me if you want notifications for any other one shots! :D**

**Prompt me if you have any requests for Brulice one shots!**


	3. Memories

**A/N at the end. :) Warnings: Grief**

* * *

**Memories**

**Alice**

Alice felt like she just wanted to crawl into a hole for a while.

Ever since her Grams died, Alice would have good days and bad days. She'd be okay for a while, but something would remind her. She'd pick up her phone, scroll through the contacts intending to call Grams and then she'd remember. It always, ALWAYS felt like someone had pulled the rug out from under her. The crash was the worst part.

Internalizing it was slowly killing her. She didn't know what to do with the crippling guilt and grief she felt inside. It felt like a big stone pressing down on her chest. It was always there, if she started to forget, it would get heavier when she remembered.

She'd cried no tears. Not a single one since she found out. She'd tried, but she just couldn't.

Today was a bad day.

She knew it was bad when she woke up shortly after Bruce did and felt like she couldn't breathe. The 'stone' felt like it was pressing on her diaphragm. She couldn't take deep breaths.

She lay in bed, clutching a pillow to her stomach and taking shallow breaths. She didn't know how long she lay there, but by the time she got out of bed the clock read 11:23 am.

_So it's been at least 3 hours. More? Probably more. _

She staggered into the bathroom. She turned on the shower and stood under the water until it ran cold. She got out, toweling off her body. She changed into jeans and a t-shirt. She sat down on the couch.

In a moment of lucidity, she realized that she wasn't really handling this well at all.

She got up, searching for her phone. She called Bruce. He answered on the second ring.

"Can you come home? I'm not…I can't…" she choked, unable to finish her thought.

"On my way," he said abruptly.

It was almost like he knew what was wrong.

In no time at all…seriously, it seemed like it was almost immediate, he was by her side.

He pulled her close. She blinked her dry, tired eyes.

_Seriously, when did my eyes get so dry? Feels like sandpaper or something…_

She wrapped her arms around him and breathed in his scent. His warmth, he was so warm. She exhaled raggedly, feeling hot tears spill over onto his shirt.

She sobbed loudly. It scared her. It was almost like it wasn't her. Like she was watching someone else.

She wasn't expecting to cry. It hurt, but it felt better than feeling nothing.

With every single body-wracking sob she emitted, she felt a bit more human. She could sort through what she was feeling.

She missed Grams. She knew that now.

She felt guilty that she hadn't called her as much as she should have.

She was devastated that she never got to say good-bye.

Bruce held her tightly while she cried, rubbing her back now and then.

She felt like she cried forever.

She sat up, finally. Her back ached from the position she had been in. Her eyes hurt and felt swollen. She sniffed and laughed when she saw the tear puddle she'd left on Bruce's shirt.

"Sorry…" she whispered.

"Don't worry about it. I've had much worse," he swiped his thumb down her cheek, catching a stray tear.

She sighed, leaning back against the couch. She laced her fingers with his.

"Your grandmother?" he asked.

"Yeah," she nodded. "Grams," she gently corrected him.

"Tell me about her?" he coaxed. "You haven't mentioned her much."

Alice smiled. "She was…the most patient woman I've ever met. She must have been, to put up with Pops AND me. She always listened, no matter what I wanted to talk about. She baked. A LOT. She sang. A LOT. She loved A LOT."

Her smiled fell, she looked down into her hands. Bruce squeezed her hand gently.

"She always said I was her 'second chance'. She felt like she messed up with my mom. She said that my mom was cut from different cloth than she and Pops. She was in constant rebellion against them. But, since Grams and Pops were pretty much hippies back then, she rebelled by being sensible and level-headed," Alice let out a dry laugh.

Bruce was silent.

"I grew up on a completely self-sufficient farm. It's completely off the grid, Bruce. Solar powered and everything. I thought it was obnoxious, but I see the merit. My mom apparently hated it. She couldn't wait to leave. So, she studied. She was the valedictorian of her senior class. She won SO many scholarships. Grams and Pops were SO proud of her. Then, they went to her graduation and had to sit through her speech, which was mostly poking fun at her upbringing and she basically said she was able to succeed in SPITE of how she was raised. It broke Grams' heart. Pops demanded an apology. My mom just shrugged and said she wasn't planning on coming back after she left, so he could basically sit on it."

Bruce frowned again.

"Grams said that somewhere along the way, they'd done something to alienate my mom. They weren't the most…INVOLVED parents. So, when my dad brought me to them, she knew she'd be able to fix it. She said that they did things differently with me. They were more interested in my life. They were active with everything I did. She always said she was more proud of me than she ever was of my mom. Because I knew what mattered. Because…while I probably wasn't a genius in the same way as my mom, I was wise. I could love. I was compassionate. I was a good person. And despite all of that…" she paused, tears filling her eyes again, "I couldn't even be bothered to call her regularly…"

"Alice…" Bruce pulled her close again as she started to cry. "You ARE all of those things. I'm CERTAIN your Grams was still proud of you. Positive, in fact. You had a lot going on and most of it was my fault. I was demanding a lot of your time."

She shook her head, sniffing loudly.

"No, I was. I'm sorry. I was being selfish. It didn't occur to me that you have other people who love you too. Although it should have…you're too wonderful not to have tons of people who love and adore you."

"Bruce…it happened. It's no one fault. I know that. Nobody knows what tomorrow brings."

He smiled crookedly, "I just don't want you to beat yourself up for this."

"I won't. Promise. I'm just not handling this as well as I thought I was."

"Well, I knew that. I just didn't want to push you."

"How did you…" she trailed off, realizing she probably shouldn't bring up his mother.

"How did I cope when my mother died?"

She nodded. He took a deep breath and clasped her hand more tightly.

"I was just a kid. I blamed myself…mostly because my father blamed me. I mean, if I wasn't the way I was, my family would have been okay."

Alice ran her other hand up and down his arm reassuringly.

"But…then I realized that no matter what kind of person I was, my dad was demented. It wasn't my fault," he said, ending with a close-lipped, uncomfortable smile.

"You didn't really answer my question…" Alice implored.

"I know…truth is...it still hits me like a ton of bricks some days. It's been…30 years. I still think about her at least once a day. I wonder if she would be proud of me. I wonder if she would have liked you…"

"Do you think she would have?"

"I do, actually," he smiled, leaning back on the couch. He held his arms open invitingly and she scooted closer, pulling her feet up on the couch with her. She snuggled into his side and sighed contentedly as he stroked her hair.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"Don't mention it," he said as hugged her close, resting his head on top of hers.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Tumblr prompt from xxemoxxlizzardxx: Alice has a sad day where Bruce tries to cheer her up. **

**I realize that I didn't really come back to Grams' death after it was mentioned, so I thought I should touch on it again. I lost my mother earlier this year. Loss of a loved one hurts. There's no other way to describe it. It doesn't really encompass my entire life. It can't because I'm a mother. So, I compartmentalize like this. I can't really have bad days, so I'll have a bad...10 minutes where I cry in the shower. **

**That was probably more explanation than anyone was wanting, but I felt I should explain it a bit further. I think Alice compartmentalizes a LOT. (And we all know how Bruce is.) Anyway, everyone grieves differently. This is just sort of my experience with it.  
**

**I'm just going to stick all my prompt stories, one shots and drabbles here, rather than have a new story for each one. Neater that way. :)**

**Timeline for this is anytime after Chapter 19 in Crimson & Clover. **

**Still planning on updating tomorrow, just wanted to get this out before Chapter 25 hits. **

**As always, I don't own any of the Marvel Universe. I do own Alice and Grams, however. **


	4. Well, Oh Well

**A/N at the end. :) Song for this chapter is Apple Trees by Ozma. Timeline is just after Thanksgiving of Alice's freshman year of college. About 8 years before Crimson & Clover. **

* * *

**Alice**

Alice walked into the cold dorm room. Cady wasn't back yet. The room had that feel. The feeling that hotel rooms had. The feeling that human warmth hadn't existed in those four walls in days. Or more. It was back to smelling like it had when she'd first moved in. Pine sol and sadness.

She had stashed her guitar case under the bed. It was still made, the sheets tucked under the edge of the mattress. It didn't look like anyone had crashed here while she'd been gone.

She dropped her shoulder bag on her desk chair. She climbed up on the bed and folded her legs. She groaned and laid back. She must have gained 10 pounds over the weekend. She'd desperately missed her Gram's cooking. Thanksgiving dinner was the best.

It had been hard to leave home again. To come back here. Where she was mediocre. One in a million.

_"Oh, you play guitar? You're a music prodigy in your hometown? Join the club." _

She instantly missed Tuck. Right about now, they'd be jamming on the porch. He'd be bugging her about speeding up the tempo of whatever song they were playing. She didn't do it on purpose...often.

The memory was bittersweet, because he was so far away now. 6 hours away to be exact.

Anytime she tried to jam here, someone yelled at her to shut up. Or corrected her posture. Or her grammar. That was annoying.

_Why didn't I just stay home? I could have gone to Southmeade Junior College like everyone else. _

_ Because. You got the scholarship here. They liked your audition tape. This is the next step. If you want to grow as a musician you have to challenge yourself. _

_ But what if I'm not up to the challenge? _

Alice felt like crying, she was so homesick. She wanted to run home. Wrap herself up in the comforting cocoon of small town pride. They were all so proud of her for leaving. Making something of herself. Except she wasn't.

No one would blame her if she came back. Would they?

Pops would be disappointed. But, he'd be disappointed now. Once her grades got back to him. She was failing Music Theory. Alice Vorso, failing a music class. She could read music. She studied the material. She just didn't know what the professor wanted from her. When she went to ask him, he'd been rude and snide.

She was jolted from her self-pity party by a loud knock on the door.

She rolled off the bed and straightened her top.

She opened the door.

_Greg. _

_ Cady's boyfriend. _

He had a guy with him. Tall. Black hair. Kind of cute.

"Greg. Hi. Cady's not back yet," she said, her tone clipped. She didn't know why. She wasn't upset. She'd just been staring at the ceiling. She always went on the defensive around people. It was her default mode until she was able to let her guard down.

"Oh…" he looked lost. He always did. It didn't take a fool to see that he was more invested in the relationship than Cady was. Why she couldn't even call him to let him know when she'd be returning was beyond Alice. Seemed an easy enough thing to do.

But, then again, Alice never understood Cady. They didn't really get along. She got along better with Greg. Maybe that was why.

"This is Zeke," Greg thumbed over his shoulder.

"Hi," Alice waved nervously, crossing her arms.

Zeke smiled. He was nicer looking than she previously thought. His dark eyes had a twinkle about them. Like he had a joke he was dying to tell you. Tuck had a similar look to him.

"I didn't catch your name, darlin'," he drawled. Alice immediately liked his voice. Deep. Slow. Like molasses.

"Alice…" she smiled.

"Alice. That's pretty. Can I call you Al?"

"Sure!" she said brightly, silently she cursed her silliness. She was probably making an idiot of herself. She didn't really care for the nickname, but she liked him. She could just correct him later.

He held out his hand, "Zeke Powell."

"Alice Vorso," she replied, shaking his hand.

"Vorso. Nice name."

"Thanks…it was my father's…" she said shakily.

He laughed.

"Okay, if you're done chatting up Alice…" said Greg, looking like he'd rather be anywhere else.

"Not quite, you go on, Greg," Zeke said, leaning against the doorframe and crossing his arms.

Alice's stomach turned flips. This was the first time she'd shown any interest in a boy since she'd been here. It was surreal that he was interested too.

"You like coffee, Al?" asked Zeke.

"I like tea…" she said quietly.

"Well, I'm sure we can find some of that somewhere," he turned to leave.

Alice stood awkwardly in the door, unsure if she was supposed to follow him.

"You comin'? I'd look silly talkin' to myself in a coffee shop."

She giggled a bit too loudly. She turned to grab her bag and shut the door to the room.

* * *

**A few days later**

Alice hurried across the gravel parking lot towards the building in front of her. She was almost late to Music Theory. The professor already didn't like her, so she didn't want to give him any more ammunition. Plus, it was a three hour evening class. No reason to get off to a bad start.

_Why did I do this to myself? Who am I fooling? _

She wasn't really thinking about class, she was thinking about the lunch she'd had with Zeke. He'd made sandwiches and they ate on the grass in front of the Student Union Building. It was really sweet. Even if they were ham and cheese.

They'd been talking a lot lately. He was really outspoken, so he was doing most of the talking. She liked listening to him, though. He was very passionate about a lot of things.

She didn't think he went to class all that much, though. It worried her. She didn't feel comfortable enough in their relationship to say anything yet, though.

She wasn't even sure what their relationship was, to be honest. He talked to her in some way every day. She looked forward to her interactions with him. But, beyond that first day they'd met, she never picked up on any kind of attraction.

Cady thought he liked her. She said he never paid attention to a chick unless he liked her. And he was paying a LOT of attention to Alice.

He still called her Al. She never corrected him. She didn't know how yet. It had only been a few days. A little over a week.

She stumbled into a signboard, lost in her thoughts. Growling in frustration, she picked it up and righted it.

_Special lecture tonight: Dr. Bruce Banner: Alpha Decay and Nuclear Fission._

_ Snore, _she thought idly. _There's a reason I'm a music major. _

She hurried to class, getting there just in time to remember that she left her essay sitting on the desk in her dorm.

* * *

**Author's Note: **

**Had a mind worm this morning. Wanted to write how Alice and Zeke met. It pained me to write her so googly eyed over him. But, he wasn't always a bad guy. When they were 18 and young, they were both just blank slates. **

**Just short stuff, I know. I'm working on two prompts for gammawidow67. I hope to have those out soon. **

**Not really any Marvel stuff in here, except for the brief mention of Bruce Banner's lecture. ;) Like I said before, this was 8 years before the events of C&C, so I'd say this was right before the accident that caused the Other Guy. **

**Anyway, I don't own any of the Marvel Universe, but I do own Alice, her grandparents, Zeke, Cady, Greg, and Tuck.**


	5. Hurt

**A/N at the end. Song for this chapter is 'Hurt', Nine Inch Nails cover by Johnny Cash. Warnings include: Violence, child abuse, character death in dream sequence, depression. Timeline is anytime after the end of Crimson & Clover, but before Green Eyes. Italics is a dream sequence.**

* * *

**Bruce**

_His small hands manipulated the pieces surprisingly well. As each one slid into the next, he felt a sense of accomplishment. A visual representation of what he'd made. He looked at the picture on the box and tried to match it. _

_ The pieces were tiny. Surely not meant for someone as young as he was. But, he had no trouble fitting them together. _

_ "Bruce, did you do that?" he heard his mother's soft voice approach from behind him. _

_ He nodded proudly, looking up at her for approval. She was beautiful, even in her dressing gown. _

_ She ruffled his hair and kissed his forehead. He turned and clung to her. He's missed her while she and Dad had been traveling. She scooped him up and carried him over to the couch. She sat down with him in her lap. _

_ "Did you want to open the rest of your presents?" she asked, gesturing to the rest of the brightly wrapped gifts under the Christmas tree. "Don't you want to see what else Santa brought you?" _

_ He shook his head, snuggling up against her instead. He knew Santa wasn't real. It didn't make sense that a fat man could fit down a chimney. But, he knew that it was important to Mommy for some reason, so he played along._

_ He heard heavy footsteps coming down stairs. _

_ He jumped up out of Mommy's lap quickly. He wanted to show Dad what he'd built. He didn't really know what it was, but it looked just like the big thing on the front of the box. _

_ Dad's heavy footsteps stopped at the door to the room. _

_ "What's that?" he barked, pointing to what Bruce had built. _

_ "Bruce built it! Isn't he so smart? That crane looks JUST like the one on the box!" Mommy exclaimed._

_ Dad stared at it. He walked over to it, picking up the box. The rest of the pieces fell out onto the floor. He tossed the box to the side. _

_ He picked up the crane Bruce had built and threw it across the room. _

_ Bruce jumped, quickly retreating behind Mommy's legs. _

_ "You shouldn't be able to do that!" Dad seethed. "Why do you know how to do that? You're only 4 years old!" _

_ "Brian…stop..." _

_ "Let me have him…" he said. _

_ "No, Brian, go back upstairs." _

_ He grabbed Mommy's arm and yanked hard. She cried out. _

_ "Don't tell me what I can and can't do in my OWN HOUSE, Rebecca…" _

_ He grabbed Bruce's arm next, his hand connecting with his face. Bruce started crying. Dad hadn't ever hit him before. No one had. _

_ His hand came down again. And again. On his arms, the side of his face. His hearing went weird. Everyone sounded so far away. _

_ He cried and cried, trying to crawl away from him. _

_ "You're a FREAK, a FREAK! I never WANTED you to begin with…" he dropped him down in a heap on the floor. _

_ Suddenly, it was raining. Bruce was laying on the sidewalk, sobs wracking his body as he watched his mother's blood wash down a gutter into a storm drain. The bag he'd packed was spilled all over the concrete, his clothes and teddy bear likely ruined by mud, blood and rain. _

_ He breathed heavily, staring at her lifeless eyes. He got up and turned towards his father, who looked almost demonic in the dull street light. _

_ Bruce screeched, running at him, arms flailing, but he knocked him back on the ground. _

_ As his father kicked him over and over again, Bruce knew he wasn't big enough, wasn't strong enough, wasn't good enough to avenge her. _

_ He cried out, the voice of his younger self echoing in the instantaneous darkness, as it echoed, it got deeper, louder, more feral. _

_ A flash of his father's terrified expression before a green fist swatted him against the house. _

_ "I always knew you were a monster…" he said quietly before the breath was choked out of him. _

_ "Bruce…DON'T…" a familiar voice begged. _

_ His father had disappeared, replaced by the one person he swore he'd never hurt…_

_ "Alice…" he choked, suddenly himself again, catching her broken body in his arms as she slid down the wall. _

_ "Alice…don't…please! I didn't… I'm sorry…I'm sorry…" he sobbed, letting his face drop down to press his forehead against hers. She felt cold. _

_ "No…no, no, no…" he whimpered, clutching her tightly. _

"BRUCE!"

He lifted his head, breathing heavily. Alice was in his arms, staring up at him worriedly. They weren't outside. It wasn't raining. They were in bed. Their bed. Their room.

"Bruce, I'm fine, what's wrong?"

"Did I—I didn't hurt you, did I?"

"No, I woke up and you were…freaking out. Your back arched, your bones were popping, muscles…your skin! I had to wake you up, I'm sorry. I couldn't keep up with the siphon, and…and…"

She made a raspy sound, a few tears slipping down her cheeks. "You don't have to talk to me about it, but I wish you would."

He shook his head, standing up. Sweat was pouring from his body, his hair was soaked.

"I need to…I can't…I'm going down to the containment chamber."

"Stay here. I've got it under control now," she pleaded.

"My father…" he whispered.

"A dream about your father?"

"Yeah."

"Your mother?"

He nodded.

"Me?"

He inhaled sharply, nodding again.

"You hurt me?"

"I killed you."

"Bruce…"

"The Other Guy killed you, but I knew what he was doing."

"He didn't kill me, it was just a dream."

"He could, though. He COULD kill you."

"I'll just have to make him like me, then," she said simply, standing up to hug him.

"How?"

"Same way I made you like me. I'll bug the shit out of him."

Bruce couldn't help but chuckle. "You never 'bugged the shit out of me', I just needed some convincing."

"Maybe that's all he needs."

"Maybe…" he repeated, not really believing it.

"Come back to bed…" she grabbed his hand, pulling him along with her.

He climbed into bed. She snuggled up against him, pulling the covers over her as she shivered.

She tossed and turned a bit before falling asleep.

He felt her heartbeat, strong and constant, thudding against his chest. Her breath tickled the skin on his neck, her arms clasped around his waist tightly.

Bruce was almost asleep himself when he heard the pattering of raindrops on the window.

* * *

**Author's Note: **

**This is a result of a prompt from Lupinica friggasdoiter.**

**I was hoping to show how Bruce and Alice don't have all of this figured out yet. They're a LONG way away from smooth sailing. Bruce is still dealing with all of his demons, Alice doesn't fix all of his problems. Now that he has her in his life, he has more things to worry about.**

**She still doesn't have quite the handle on her abilities that she needs to have. She still needs to cultivate her relationship with the Other Guy.**

**The dream sequence was adapted from the comic book version of Bruce's very troubled childhood. I tried not to make it too graphic, I'm not good with graphic. I'm good with feels. :/**

**The toy he's playing with at the beginning is an Erector set.**

**As always, I don't own any part of the Marvel Universe, but I do own Alice.**

**Follow/Favorite/Review if you feel so inclined. **


	6. The Ups and Downs

**A/N at the end. :) Song for this chapter is 'Hit It' by American Authors. Warnings include mentions of blood. Timeline for this is anytime after the end of Crimson & Clover. **

* * *

**Alice**

She felt the tension rolling off him in waves.

He held the hand he'd cut, pressing a rag into the wound, repeating something under his breath.

He wasn't going to be able to handle it this time; Alice was certain of it. It looked like a deep cut. There was blood on the counter, blood on the floor and blood dripping from the wound in his hand.

He curled inward on himself.

Alice made a snap decision to increase her siphon. If she could keep up with it, Tony could take a look at the cut for him. There was no reason to let the Hulk out right now. Especially since she was here by herself. Especially since there was apparently millions of dollars of equipment in this lab. Especially since, according to Tony, there was 'no such thing as Hulk insurance.'

She whimpered quietly as she increased the pull, shivering as energy flooded her body.

It felt like she had ice water pumping through her veins. Tony had checked last time and her body temperature actually dropped a full degree and a half when she siphoned large amounts of energy from Bruce. No idea why, but it happened.

Her heart raced as she struggled to keep up with him.

He was breathing heavily, more blood dripped onto the floor.

"Stop the bleeding," she ground out. "Calm down….please…"

He groped around the table for another cloth. He pressed it into the wound, closing his hand around it tightly.

"We have to clean up the blood…it's toxic…" he whispered, his voice came out in labored bursts.

A dull ache throbbed at the base of her skull, radiating up the back of her head and behind her eyes.

"Later," she answered, simply unable to elaborate more than that.

Her arms were itching, but she couldn't release any of the energy, not in here.

"JARVIS?" she said roughly, "Get Tony."

"Right away, Ms. Vorso."

Bruce leaned up against the wall opposite the containment chamber. He had found a pile of clean rags under one of the counters and was currently pressing three into the wound on his hand. His posture was more relaxed. It looked like it had worked.

"Are you okay?" she asked, the tension beginning to ebb.

"Yeah," he panted, sliding down the wall to the floor. "Thank you," he looked up at her appreciatively.

"Don't mention it…" she replied breathlessly, walking over to sit beside him. She landed with a thud, leaning her head on his shoulder.

"Are YOU okay?" he asked, turning his head to look down at her.

"Never better, just itching to release some energy…" she joked.

"Maybe Clint's still awake, wasn't he wanting to practice that slowing thing again?"

"Yeah…I'll call him in a minute…need to catch my breath…"

"Might need to do it all over again while Tony stitches my hand," said Bruce, somewhat bitterly.

"Won't be as bad, I'll be expecting it…" she frowned thoughtfully, "I COULD just drain you now if you'd rather. Then, you can sleep through the nasty part."

"Nah. I'm a big boy. I can handle it if you can."

"I can handle anything," she grinned.

"You ARE amazing," he stated.

"Nah…" she straightened up, sliding her legs out in front of her.

"I love you. I can't even describe what it means to me that you are willing to do this."

"I love YOU…" she leaned over to kiss him, "want me to kiss your boo-boo as well?"

"Don't refer to it as a 'boo-boo'…it's a gaping, gushing wound."

"You cut yourself on a broken beaker."

"It was one of the big ones, though," he insisted before smiling crookedly, obviously embarrassed.

"You're right, it IS a gaping wound. I'm SO happy you survived," she leaned over to kiss the tip of his nose.

"You can just hush. Can we tell Tony it was something more dangerous than a broken beaker?"

"What should I tell him? A knife wielding ninja dropped down from the ceiling and cut your palm before back flipping out the window?"

"Yes. That. Tell him that."

She rolled her eyes and snickered quietly.

"Love you, Banner."

"Love you too."

* * *

**Author's Note: **

**Okay, so I've had some questions about Alice's abilities lately, and I wanted to write this to kind of break it down for everyone.**

**A lot of these side effects will get looked into more in depth as Green Eyes continues. **

**This isn't to say that the Hulk never comes out, by the way. He does. You know he can't just stay locked up forever. But, this makes it easier for Bruce, yes? Easier for Bruce AND Alice. **

**And they're just too cute. Problems or not, they are SO in love. **

**Anyway, hope this was entertaining! **

**As always, I don't own any part of the Marvel Universe, but I DO own Alice. **

**Follow/Favorite/Review if you feel so inclined!**


	7. We Can Turn It Around

**A/N at the end. :) Song for this chapter is 'Cherry Bomb' by The Runaways. Timeline is anytime after Chapter 4 in Green Eyes. Warnings: Language. **

* * *

**Alice**

"I cannot believe you did that. This is the last time you get to choose what we do on girl's night. I'm going to have to tell Bruce about what happened. I technically cheated on him tonight," Alice's voice got more shrill the more upset she became.

"OH GOD, ALICE. You didn't fucking cheat on Bruce. Looking at male strippers does not equal cheating," Darcy sighed exasperatedly.

Alice glared at her.

"Besides, I didn't hear you complaining when Big Tex invited you to hop on his horse."

Alice shook her head and blushed.

Pepper laughed loudly as she joined them outside. She was wearing a cowboy hat and twirling someone's G-string around her finger. She dropped it on the ground and giggled.

"Who's going to explain THAT to Tony?" Alice gestured towards her giggling former boss.

"Pepper's a big girl. Plus, I'm sure Tony knows how to handle a drunken Pepper better than you or me."

"Big Tex told me to give this to you, Alice," Pepper placed the cowboy hat on Alice's head.

"You didn't take pictures, did you? I don't want Bruce seeing this on your Twitter," Alice pointed at Darcy accusingly.

"Bruce on Twitter? That's hilarious. Could you imagine? He'd probably just post links to some kind of earth saving, tree hugger charity."

"So? That's more productive than what YOU do on Twitter."

"Avengers Butt Shots are VERY popular, thank you very much. I have over 500,000 followers."

Alice sighed, "Darcy…"

"I didn't take any pictures. I couldn't post them even if I did. Pepper's a CEO."

"Let's just go home. I don't relish the thought of sharing this with Bruce." She turned to walk to the car. Preston had been waiting outside for them.

"You're just upset because you ENJOYED it," said Darcy, helping Pepper over to the car.

"I did not," Alice picked up Pepper's purse that she dropped.

"You did. There's nothing wrong with enjoying yourself. Did you want to have sex with any of those men?"

"No."

"So it's okay. You were just having fun. You were completely loyal to your dorky scientist."

"I still have to tell him, though."

"I know, but stop being such a martyr. HE'S not perfect. He's the one still talking to his ex when it OBVIOUSLY bothers you. Quit acting like you don't deserve him."

"I don't…" Alice said quietly, taking the cowboy hat off her head. She threw it on top of a trash can as she opened the door for Pepper, who climbed in and lay down on the back seat. Alice got in after her and slid in under her feet. Darcy climbed in the front.

"Hey…Vorso. I'm not done talking to you…what's this bullshit about you not deserving him?"

"I don't. I mean, think about it. I'm not…"

"If you say you're not smart enough, I'm going to agree with you and slap the sense back into you. Has HE said that you're not smart enough for him?"

"Not really…no."

"What does that mean? What is it, hon?" Darcy's demeanor went from bad ass to sympathetic in record time.

"I don't know. It's just little things. Like he wanted me to go to that lecture Betty was giving."

"Wasn't that about mutant reproduction or something?"

"Genetics. And yes…but it just felt like he was trying to get me to…'broaden my horizons' or whatever."

"Did you ASK him about it?"

"Yes, I did," Alice replied defensively.

"What did HE say?"

"That he thought I would find it 'interesting'."

"Alice. Bruce loves you. He loves everything about you. He would probably be upset if he knew you secretly thought this. I mean, haven't you figured out that he doesn't play games? He doesn't speak in code. If he says 'interesting', he means INTERESTING."

Alice shrugged, shrinking down in the seat, deciding to change the subject, "I just…don't want to tell him about this, but I know I should…it feels like more crap on top of a pile of crap and I'm just…getting overwhelmed with it all."

"I honestly didn't think this would be a big deal, Tennessee. I'm sorry."

"It's fine. You didn't know. You were just trying to plan something fun."

"You had fun, right? Up until now, I mean?"

Alice smiled, "Yeah, I had fun. But now, every time I think about telling Bruce, I feel like I'm going to puke everywhere."

"So don't think about it. Think about how funny it was to find out that Pepper is actually a fun drunk."

"She's certainly a LOUD drunk," said Alice, looking at the apparently asleep CEO of Stark Industries sprawled out on the seat beside her.

"I will second that," Preston said quietly.

Alice grinned.

"I would also like to add that it would make my job a hell of a lot easier if you would stick to the nice parts of town."

"But, there are no naked guys in the nice parts of town," Darcy whined.

Alice's phone buzzed. She glanced down at it. A text from Bruce.

_"Hey…having fun?" _

"He doesn't speak in code, huh?" Alice showed her screen to Darcy.

"What? He's asking how your night's going."

"Oh, come ON. He doesn't text me. Not for small talk. He thinks it's late. And he wants an ETA."

"Okay, well, he has a code. But it's not a malicious one. He's not Zeke, Alice. I know it's hard to have an open mind when that's all you've known, but he's not trying to control you. He's just worried."

Alice nodded absently while she texted back, "_We had fun. On our way back to the tower. See you soon. Love you." _

He messaged back almost immediately, _"Love you too." _

She smiled. Darcy was right. He wasn't controlling. She really should give Bruce more credit. With his "condition", it was probably hell for him when she went out without him. But he never complained or tried to make her feel bad for doing it.

"Look what I got…" Darcy dangled a slip of paper in Alice's face.

"What is that?" she grabbed it, unfolding it. "A phone number? Whose is it?"

"The bartender's," Darcy grinned.

Alice raised her eyebrows and nodded. "Impressive, Lewis."

"Yeah, well…" Darcy tossed her hair. "It's been a while, but I've still got it."

"What do you mean it's been a while? I thought you were seeing that girl from accounting a few weeks ago."

"A few weeks constitute a 'while' for me."

"Well, what happened with that? She was eating lunch with us every day."

"Yeah. She got kind of clingy…" Darcy said flippantly. Alice figured there was more to the story that she wasn't sharing.

"Oh…" Alice said thoughtfully, deciding not to press the issue.

"Yeah…not great for a workplace romance. I figure…this guy's a bartender in an all-male strip club. He sees a lot of girls. He's probably not worried about commitment at all."

Alice smirked, "You're probably right."

"What are you smirking about? Just because you found the one person meant for you in this big ball of dirt on the second turn around the neighborhood doesn't mean it's that easy for all of us."

"I—I didn't mean anything by it. Just…thought you weren't LOOKING for commitment. Isn't that what you just said?"

Darcy opened her mouth and closed it again. "I can see why Bruce hates arguing with you. You don't play fair."

"Not true. Just because I caught you in a falsehood doesn't mean I don't play fair."

Darcy smirked back, "Well. Don't be so smug, there, Miss Hetero-gamma mutant. It was relatively EASY for you. Your guy puts off a big green beacon. God, how I WISH that I could go to work one day, and there would be this big sign over MY soul mate's head. 'DARCY! DARCY LEWIS! LOOK! LOOK AT THIS DORK! THIS IS THE DORK FOR YOU!"

"I'm not with Bruce simply because of my…"

"I know, I know. I'm just…I'm on the defensive now. Plus, I have a whole world of people to filter through."

"Your expectations are high, I'm sure that helps some."

Darcy grinned. "I am notoriously difficult to please."

"I don't need to know about your sex life, Darce," Alice teased.

"Well…that too…" she winked. "Anyway, he's pretty to look at, longish hair, seemed nice. I guess I'll know soon enough."

"When are you going to call him?"

"Probably day after tomorrow, I don't want to seem too thirsty."

"But you are," teased Alice.

"Oh…go fuck a physicist," Darcy swatted at Alice from the front seat.

Preston cleared his throat.

Alice grinned, "Sorry, Preston."

"No, I just meant...we've been parked in front of the tower for 3 minutes now."

"OH, sorry! Can I get some help with Ms. Potts?" asked Darcy.

"I can help you…" said Alice.

"Nah, go on. Put Bruce's mind at ease. Preston and I have got this."

"Good night, Darcy," Alice leaned over to hug her.

"Night, Alice. Tell Bruce I'm sorry for keeping you out so late!" she called after her.

Alice hurried home after grabbing her purse from the back of the car.

* * *

**Author's Note: **

**This is the result of a prompt from tumblr user varitas-omnia-vincit: Girls Night Out with Alice, Darcy and Pepper. **

**There wasn't much Pepper in this. I'm a little short on Pepper material for some reason, so she's passed out drunk. :P **

**Okay, so this idea has been eating at me for a while. I love the strip club idea, but I've never been to one, lol. My experience with male strippers is limited to the 25 minutes of Magic Mike I've seen, and that SNL skit with Patrick Swayze and Chris Farley, the Chippendale's auditions. I'm horribly sheltered, I know. So, I decided to begin this directly after they leave the strip club. I wanted some nice BFF dialogue between Darcy and Alice. I also wanted to expand on Darcy's character more, but I wasn't able to do so in the main story. I hope you like it. :D**

**Also, we see Alice's self worth issues rearing their ugly heads again. *sigh***

**I want to continue this...I probably will in the next few days. I wanted Bruce's reaction to Alice going to a male strip club. :P So, look for that in the next couple days. **

**As always, I don't own any part of the Marvel Universe, but I do own Alice and Preston. **

**Leave prompts in the comments, if you want. I love these so much! **


	8. Why Don't You Come Back Down?

**A/N at the end. :) Song for this chapter is 'Fool' by Neutral Milk Hotel. This is a continuation of the previous chapter, "So We Can Turn It Around". I don't normally do this with these prompts, but this one wanted to be written. :) Warnings include language and implied adult/sexy times at the end. ;) I keep it classy, however.**

* * *

**Alice**

Alice hurried up to the apartment, rehearsing her speech on the elevator. She texted Bruce to let him know she was on her way up.

No matter what way she imagined it, it never ended well. The nausea she was feeling in the car returned tenfold. She felt so guilty and she hadn't even done anything.

Her phone buzzed as the elevator doors opened in the common room. She looked down at her phone to read Bruce's reply.

_"Hi."_

She frowned, "Hi?"

"Hi," his voice startled her. He was emptying the dishwasher in the common room.

"Hi," she replied, sounding breathless.

"What's wrong? Were you doing jumping jacks in the elevator again?" he smiled, but it fell when he looked up at her and saw her face. "Are you okay? You're as white as a sheet."

"Darcy, Pepper and I went to an all-male strip club. I didn't know that was where we were going, Darcy picked it. I swear I didn't know, Bruce," Alice blurted out in one breath, inhaling deeply after she'd finished.

Bruce closed the cabinet door. He turned and leaned against the counter, silent.

Alice felt lightheaded, she tried to steady her breathing.

"I have to say…I'm relieved by your confession."

Alice frowned, confused.

"I have one of my own…" he said cautiously, walking around the counter to the stools. He sat in one. "Sit down, Alice."

She felt sick again. Like she might throw up.

_Oh God. He's leaving me. He's cheating on me. He's…I don't know…_

"I've been doing a lot of research…and thinking. I've been thinking a lot, and I need to tell you something."

She braced herself for the very worst.

"I think I'm a Verdi-sexual."

_What?_

"What?" she asked, frowning in confusion.

"A verdi-sexual. I am only aroused by green people. I think it might be an extension of the Other Guy's persona. I'm sorry, but in order for me to become aroused now, you'll have to paint yourself green. And wear a witch hat, because in addition to being verdi-sexual, I have an Oz-kink. You'll need to be the Wicked Witch of the West. The body paint needs to be waterproof, because I'll have to dump water over your head. It's part of the process. How's your cackle, anyway?"

His face was completely deadpan.

_He's joking. Damn him…_

"Get the fuck out…" Alice shook her head and stood to walk back to the apartment.

Bruce burst into a fit of laughter. "Did I have you going? When did you know I was kidding?"

"Oh, geez, I dunno, somewhere around the time you told me to paint myself green."

He laughed more, following her down the hall.

Alice was not in the mood for laughing, however. Once he closed the door, she rounded on him, grabbing his shirt. "I thought you were cheating on me…" she whispered, a stray tear betraying her angry façade.

"Alice…" Bruce's demeanor changed immediately to one of concern, he grabbed her hands gently. "Alice, I'm sorry. I was only kidding…how could you ever think that I'd cheat on you? I found out from Tony about where you guys were going. I hope your night wasn't ruined…" he searched her face, "it was, wasn't it?" He looked suitably crestfallen.

She shrugged, slowly relaxing her hands and letting go of him. His hands were still grasping hers. Now that the initial shock of what happened had settled, she wasn't feeling furious anymore.

"See? You say I need to joke around more…this is why I don't do practical jokes, I CANNOT read a room. I am so sorry…I really am…" he gushed. "I have been planning this for three hours and I honestly had no idea you would…I'm not, I would never… I love you, Alice!"

She slipped her hands from his, hiding a smile. He was so cute when he got flustered like this and it made it extremely hard for her to stay mad at him. She turned away to take off her jacket. "Had a good talk with Darcy, got to see Pepper get plastered, and I got to ride a mechanical bull with a stripper who called himself 'Big Tex'."

"Big Tex?" he asked, smiling that crooked smile she loved, the one where he raised one eyebrow. It was as if he knew how utterly adorable he looked.

"He was a cowboy."

"Of course…and you rode a mechanical bull?"

She nodded, feeling the tightness in her shoulders releasing as she calmed down.

"How long did you stay on?"

She smirked, any anger that remained was purely residual, "20 seconds longer than he did."

He grinned and took her jacket from her, hanging it up on the hook by the door. "What does Pepper drink to get plastered? Margaritas?"

"Nope. Guess again…"

"Apple-tinis?"

"Nope," she shook her head.

"I give up," he conceded.

"Lemon drops."

He grimaced, "Oh no…she's one of those…"

"She's so LOUD, she was yelling so much!"

Bruce laughed.

"And Darcy got the bartender's number."

"Good for her."

"Yep…and that's pretty much it."

"I'm sorry your night was ruined…I don't want that…I didn't even think that you'd be worried about me and my reaction…" he grabbed her hand again.

"I always worry about you."

"Why?"

"Besides the obvious?"

He nodded.

"Well, you can TEND to be a jealous boyfriend."

"I'm only jealous if I feel threatened. I'm not threatened by any of THOSE guys."

"Oh really?"

"Really. Know why?"

"Why?"

"Because anything they did, I do BETTER," he slipped his hand around her waist and pulled her flush against him.

Alice thought about some of the things those men had done that night and giggled. The thought of Bruce doing anything that ridiculous was hilarious.

"What? You don't believe me?" he asked, playing offended.

"No, I'm just…imagining YOU doing some of those things…it's kind of funny."

"Why is it funny?"

"Because. It was cheesy. You're not cheesy. You're romantic and smooth…most of the time. You don't NEED to do anything gimmicky to make me want you. I already do. You don't need to…gyrate or thrust to turn me on," she blushed.

"See? I'm better. That's what I said, after all," he grinned triumphantly.

"You ARE better."

"And you would know…" he nuzzled her neck.

"I DO know…"

"And some thrusting is okay, right? I've never tried gyrating…maybe you'd like that…" he moved his hips against hers suggestively.

"Definitely…and maybe…" she tried not to squirm, but his stubble was tickling her. "Bedroom?" she suggested.

"No. Here," he lifted her up onto the kitchen counter before pressing his lips to hers urgently.

* * *

**Author's Note: **

**So...Bruce is BAD at practical jokes. I know some people like this. They're TOO CONVINCING. Not fair. Anyway, again, we have some angst here on Alice's part, due to her insecurities, which Bruce is completely oblivious to...argh.**

**But, then, there's some of that cuteness that reminds us of why they belong together, and why they need to freaking TALK TO EACH OTHER. Imagine how happy they'd be if they'd just talk to each other. But, alas...that's not how the story goes. :(**

**I see Bruce as a jealous boyfriend, but not to the point where he's controlling of what Alice does and who she sees. I think he knows that's not healthy and that Alice wouldn't like that at all, since that's what Zeke used to do to her. I think the fact that she went to this particular venue DOES bother him, but I think he's also able to see that she didn't choose to go there, and she loves him too much to ever dream of doing anything to hurt him. I think he trusts her. Whether or not she trusts HIM is debatable, after this little debacle.**

**And then there's the love makin' at the end...or implied love makin'...**

**Kitchen lovin' is always sexy. ;)**

**As always, I don't own any part of the Marvel Universe, but I DO own Alice.**

**Follow/Favorite/Review if you feel so inclined!**


	9. Where Did You Get The Nerve?

**A/N at the end. :) Song for this chapter is 'Be My Man' by Jill Barber. Timeline for this is anytime after Chapter 8 in Green Eyes. Contains major spoilers for Green Eyes, so don't read ahead if you haven't read chapter 8. It'll be right here waiting when you get done. :)**

* * *

**Alice**

Alice groaned and pulled her legs into her chest. She buried her head in the throw pillow on the couch.

"You know, you'd feel better if you get up and do something. Research has proven that increased blood flow will help alleviate any discomfort you feel from menstrual cramps," Bruce said, flipping through one of his notebooks. "Maybe you could go for a walk or something."

"Oh, a walk. Is that all I need? A walk? Is that what you do when you're on your period, Bruce? Does that work for you?" she snapped.

"Alice, I'm only trying to help you…" he walked over to her and let his hands slide down to her shoulders. He rubbed them slowly, releasing the tension she had in her neck.

"Help me by making the pain stop or at least distracting me from it…it feels like my uterus is trying to escape."

"If it makes you feel any better, Tony dyed his hand blue today."

She giggled, "HOW?"

"You know, I'm not sure…but Darcy somehow rigged JARVIS to play 'Blue' by Eiffel 65 every time he walked in the room."

She laughed, feeling somewhat better. It really sucked having such a weird mutation. Pain medicine had NEVER worked for her.

"My lower back hurts," she whined, peeking at him out of the corner of her eye.

"Want me to run a bath for you? You can soak in there and I'll give you a back rub when you're through?"

She hummed in appreciation, squeezing his hand for a moment before lying back down on the couch.

She heard the water running. A short while later, he returned.

"Your bath is ready," he said.

"Thank you…" she stood up carefully, wincing at the sudden pain in her lower back.

"Can you go get me something?" she asked, pressing the heels of her hands against her sacrum.

"Be more specific," Bruce replied.

"I want…pretzels. NO…I want a chocolate bar…NO…I want a cheeseburger."

"Pretzels, chocolate, and a cheeseburger, anything else?"

"Root Beer."

"No problem, I'll be back shortly."

"Thank you, Bruce."

"You're welcome, love" he crossed the room, kissing her before he left. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close, slipping his tongue into her mouth.

She pulled back from him, glaring. "Tongue? Really, Bruce?"

He shrugged, "Thought I was getting a signal."

"A tongue signal?"

"Yes. A tongue signal."

"Well, you weren't."

"I can see that now…my apologies. You probably won't want that for at least 2 more days…" he smirked.

"Oh, you think you're so smart. You think you know me so well," she teased.

"I AM so smart. And I DO know you so well," he grinned before pecking her cheek.

"Just for that, I can assure you that I WON'T want that in 2 days."

"Okay, we'll see."

She stuck out her tongue.

"See, I thought you WEREN'T giving me tongue signals. You perplex me, Vorso. I don't think YOU know what you want."

"I know I want pretzels, and a candy bar, and a cheeseburger."

"And a root beer," he added. "Call me if you think of anything else you want."

"I'm sure I won't have to, since you know me SO WELL," she teased before walking back to the bathroom.

She undressed and slid into the hot, but not too hot, water. A big whiff told her that he'd added some essential oils to help her relax. She couldn't help but smile. He took such good care of her when she let him. It wasn't often, that was for sure.

She sighed contentedly and lay back, thinking about how he was braving his biggest annoyance: crowds, just so she could have junk food. And he hadn't even tried to lecture her.

_I should cut him a break. He's trying. _

Alice dozed slightly, her head propped up on a folded towel, as she waited for him to return.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Just a short little drabble piece. I got a tumblr prompt from xxemoxxlizzardxx: Alice is sick and Bruce takes care of her. Alice doesn't really GET SICK, but she is a lady, and she has her lady times just like the rest of us. Except poor Alice can't have pain relief like most of us. (I say most because I know that NSAIDS and the like don't work for everyone unfortunately). **

**Anyway, I figured Bruce would probably be a know-it-all like he is about everything, but at the same time, he kind of knows she's not a lightweight when it comes to pain, and if she's complaining, it's probably pretty bad. He wants her to be as comfortable as possible, I'm sure. I'm also sure he likes being able to take care of her, just not the reason why. **

**I don't own any of the Marvel Universe, I do own Alice, though. **

**Review/Follow/Favorite if you feel so inclined. :)**


	10. Who You Gonna Call?

**A/N at the end. :) Song for this chapter is 'Pet Semetary' by the Ramones. (Not really topical, except that a classic rock buff like Tony would TOTALLY play this at a Halloween Party). No warnings for this one. :) Just pure fluff.**

* * *

**Alice**

"Alice…I wish you would have asked me before you made me a costume…"

She pouted, sticking out her bottom lip.

"Stop it. You know I can't resist that face."

She stuck her lip out more, widening her eyes.

He leaned over and caught her lip between his teeth, tugging gently. She yelped, he smirked, chuckling softly.

"Bruce…" She pushed away from him, draping the costume over her arm and leaning back against the counter behind her.

"Alice, I already had an idea for what I wanted to wear," he said, grinning and closing down the program on the touch screen in front of him.

"Oh really?" she raised her eyebrows, nodding expectantly.

"Yeah, I was going to go as A BIOLOGIST," he laughed to himself.

"Are you serious? You are going as your own profession? That's against the rules."

"I'm not a biologist!" he said, apparently offended. He closed all his notebooks and stuck them in his bag with his laptop.

She frowned, confused. "Don't you have a doctorate in biology?"

"MICRO-biology. Not just biology…" he scoffed.

"Okay…I don't get it."

"I'm a physicist…but I'm dressing UP as a biologist."

"How would someone know that's what you're going as?"

"I'd tell them if they asked."

"That's lame…please wear the costume I made you? Mine matches it," she bounced excitedly.

"You're also going as a…pirate ninja Zorro?" he took the costume from her and held it up in front of him, flicking the black mask.

"It's not a pirate ninja, it's Westley from 'The Princess Bride'," she corrected him. "I have a Buttercup costume for myself."

Bruce grimaced and squirmed uncomfortably, like he always did when he thought something was a bad idea.

"Please?" she begged.

"Alice…I'll look stupid."

"You think I'd make you something that looks stupid? I want us to have costumes that GO TOGETHER for Tony's party..."

"Not on purpose. I'm sure it's very well made, but the idea's stupid, no offense."

"You're STUPID," she retorted. "I thought you LIKED 'The Princess Bride'!"

"It's a great movie; I don't want to BE in it."

She sighed, "Fine. I won't beg you. I have my dignity. If not the time I wasted meticulously hand sewing the button holes on this shirt."

She folded the costume up over her arm and walked briskly to the door.

* * *

**Bruce**

He watched her leave, blinking in surprise at the haste in which she accepted defeat.

He slung his bag over his shoulder, hurrying after her.

"Alice!" he called up the hall. She stopped and waited for him.

"So…you're just…dropping this?"

"Yup," she said, popping the 'p'.

"Not going to try to guilt me into wearing the costume?"

"I'm not going to make you do anything you don't want to do. Have I ever done that before?"

"No," he said, eying her warily.

"What kind of a person do you take me for?" she asked, appalled.

"Someone who might withhold sex if I don't dress up as Westley…"

"I could never withhold sex from you. I'd cave WAY before you would."

He smirked, feeling a bit cocky. "Really?"

She nodded, peeking at him from the corner of her eye. She was adorable.

"Besides," she tossed her hair, "I have a backup offer."

The elevator doors opened, and Bruce followed her out of the elevator.

He frowned, "What backup offer?"

"Oh, Clint warned me that you wouldn't go for dressing up, so he offered to go with me."

"Clint can't wear that, we're not the same size."

"No, Clint's going as Robin Hood. My Buttercup costume could double as Maid Marian with a few alterations."

"Okay…put THAT on hold for a minute…you were upset with me for wanting to go as a biologist, and Clint's going as Robin Hood? That's the same thing. Clint's a mercenary archer and Robin Hood's a mercenary archer."

"No, not the same thing at all. The same thing would be if YOU were going as Copernicus or Aristotle, or Sir Isaac Newton."

Bruce's brow stayed furrowed, "Moving on…Alice, you CAN'T go to this party with Clint."

"Oh, I can't?"

"No…not when I'M going too. Now, if I wasn't going, it'd be a different story…but I'M going to be there. You have to go with me."

"Says who? You won't dress up with me. Clint will. I'm going with Clint."

"I am NOT going to wear that costume," Bruce said. He had to put his foot down once in a while.

* * *

**An embarrassingly short while later**

"Okay…help me with the sword…" Bruce emerged from the bathroom dressed from head to toe in black, wearing knee high black pirate boots.

Alice squealed, jumping up and down with her hands clasped. She hurried over to help him with the sword. "I can't believe you're wearing it!"

"Yes. I'm wearing it," he groused half-heartedly. It was hard to remain grumpy when she was so happy. "I think the pants might be a little snug…" he tugged them down on his hips, bending his knees to test their flexibility.

"No…I think they look just fine…" she grinned as she slid her arms around his waist and down further to squeeze his rear.

He blushed and shook his head, pulling her hands up to his waist again. "The pants are tight enough…no need to make them worse…"

"You have to put on the mask…" she grabbed it off the dresser.

He groaned good naturedly, "As you wish…"

She squealed again and leaned up to kiss him. He put on the mask and she helped him tuck all his hair up into it.

He helped her into her dress, lacing the back for her.

She left her hair down and flowing in soft waves.

"Buttercup has blonde hair, doesn't she?" he asked, unsure if his memory was correct.

"She does. But I have red hair."

"You certainly do. You look beautiful."

"I hope my hair doesn't clash with the dress…" she inspected herself in the full length mirror.

"Not at all," Bruce wound his arms around her waist, gazing at their reflections in the mirror. She was right; it wasn't so bad now that he saw them together. Or maybe that was just his brain trying to rationalize what he was doing.

"See? It's not so bad, is it?" she asked.

"Not really," he acquiesced. "I'm a little surprised at how little it took to convince me to wear this, though. I mean, I didn't even corroborate your story with Clint. He'd better be dressed as Robin Hood, or you're in trouble, Missy."

She raised her eyebrows, "Missy?"

"I don't do pet names…"

"And now I know why."

"I'm stuck between a Pirates of Penzance joke and a Men in Tights joke…" Tony said, gesturing to Bruce's crotch area. "That whole situation is messing with my head…"

Tony himself was dressed as the Tin Man to Pepper's Dorothy Gale. Complete with silver face paint.

"Men in Tights, another Cary Elwes film…" Alice observed.

"Wanna throw a Saw reference in there as well?" asked Bruce sarcastically.

"Now Bruce…no HARD feelings…" Tony quipped, poking him in the ribs.

"SHUT UP, Iron dildo," he retorted.

"Damn…I forgot I was wearing this…" Tony looked down at his own get up. "I promised Pepper, because last year, we went as Hugh Hefner and a playmate…"

"Which were you?" asked Alice, raising an eyebrow. "Because I'm having a rather hilarious mental image of you in bunny ears."

Bruce chuckled and pulled her in close to his side. He was thrilled to not be wearing the most ridiculous costume here. His was rather manly, except for the tight pirate pants.

_Well…I guess they ARE manly in that they are showcasing my manhood…_ he fought the urge to hold something in front of himself.

He and Alice made their way to the bar, where Steve was standing, holding what looked to be a martini. He was wearing a basic black tux.

"What are you?" asked Alice…"Are you in costume, or just dressed up?"

Steve looked at her inquisitively. "Isn't it obvious? I'm Bond….James Bond," he took a sip from his martini and stared darkly into the distance.

His face broke into a grin, "Do you get it?"

"Yeah, Steve. We get it," said Alice, laughing, "I guess you've been binge watching all the 007 movies."

"You'd be right," he said. "And this," he lifted his glass, "is a real martini, but it's really just for show…"

"Right," Alice nodded.

"What are you?" he gestured to Alice and Bruce.

"We're Westley and Princess Buttercup…from 'The Princess Bride'," said Alice.

Steve stared blankly before pulling out his pad of paper and pen, "The Princess Bride…is it a movie or…"

"A movie," Bruce confirmed, shifting uncomfortably.

"It's great, you'll love it," Alice assured him.

Clint entered, dressed as Alice said he would be, as Robin Hood. Natasha came in soon after, dressed in a red trench coat and hat.

"Carmen Sandiego," Alice answered Bruce's inquisitive look. "Kid's geography show…in the 90s."

"Oh…"

He must have had a blank look on his face, because she continued, "Carmen Sandiego is an art thief who steals major works of art from around the world and then flees. The kids would then be given a series of context clues to guess where she hid. How do you not know this?"

"I was busy being in high school."

"Oh. Right. I forget we're not the same age sometimes…"

Bruce smirked, "That's a good thing, isn't it?"

"Yeah, I suppose it is…"

Jane and Thor entered, with Darcy tagging along. Darcy was dressed up as a steampunk robot. Bruce only knew that because Alice had been helping her with the costume.

Neither Jane nor Thor appeared to be wearing costumes.

"Why didn't you dress up?" asked Alice.

"I am dressed up," Thor assured her, "I am in full battle regalia."

Alice giggled, "You're supposed to dress up as someone or something else. Didn't Darcy explain this to you?"

"Tried," said Darcy, shaking her head. "He wouldn't listen."

"Lady Alice, I was just out with Jane, and I saw SEVERAL Midgardian children dressed exactly like I am. I know what I am wearing is appropriate."

Alice sighed, and turned to Jane. "Where's your costume?"

"I'm wearing it. I'm an ASTROLOGIST," she laughed.

Bruce laughed loudly and Alice turned to Darcy, shaking her head.

"See, Alice, I TOLD you that was a good costume!" He turned towards Jane, "I was going to come as a biologist." They both laughed again.

Alice sighed, "I am in love with a complete dork, Darcy. I don't even…" she trailed off.

Darcy laughed loudly, taking a sip of her wine, "I'm sorry you're just now realizing this, Tennessee."

"So you convinced him to wear it…" Clint said, knocking back the rest of his beer, "How did you manage that?"

"I love her, there wasn't much convincing involved," Bruce assure him.

Alice rolled her eyes, "Right…"

"Well, at least you're not wearing face paint, amiright?" asked Darcy gesturing towards Tony.

* * *

**Alice**

She leaned into Bruce's shoulder and smiled for a picture, they'd been here for a few hours and she was ready to go home.

"Ready to go yet?" he asked, seemingly reading her mind.

"More than ready," she whispered, slipping her arm through his. "Let's go home."

"As you wish," he grinned.

"Yeah…I know you're trying to annoy me with that, but it's not working."

"Let's go, and I'll see if I can annoy you at home…" he whispered, tugging her after him.

They said their good nights and made their way downstairs.

Bruce swept her up in his arms abruptly once the elevator doors opened.

"Bruce!" she protested, kicking her legs.

"Just carrying you to bed, Princess," he teased.

"I'm not tired," she giggled.

"Good…" he fumbled with the door, swinging wide and kicking it closed behind him.

* * *

**Author's Note: **

**That ending's a little abrupt. I apologize. I wanted to get this posted before I left tonight. Going to be MIA until Sunday, my sister-in-law's getting married and my oldest son is the ring bearer! We also have family visiting and staying with us. I have to be hospitable! :P **

**Anywho, just a little fluff piece. Green Eyes is heavy, so I wanted something light to counteract that. Plus, wouldn't Bruce and Alice be ADORABLE as Westley and Buttercup? And the image of Bruce Banner saying "As you wish" in tight pants and a pirate shirt...Yummy. ;)**

**Let me know what you think of everyone's costumes! **

**As always, I don't own any of the Marvel Universe, I do own Alice. **

**Please R&R! Have a great weekend!**


	11. Count On Me Like 1,2,3

**A/N at the end. :) Song for this chapter is "With A Little Help From My Friends," by the Beatles. No warnings at all. Except this is my first time writing from Steve's perspective, so bear with me.**

* * *

**Steve**

Steve approached Alice cautiously. She was sitting at the counter in the common room reading a book.

He sat down with his charcoal and pad, intending to sketch her while she wasn't looking. He figured Bruce might like it. Plus, she was the only resident of Avengers Tower who he had yet to sketch.

She shook her head.

"What?" he asked, laughing.

She cocked an eyebrow, "Finally nailed me down, did ya?"

"Looks like it," Steve grinned while scratching out his baselines.

She stirred her tea absently before setting her book down on the counter and turning towards him. "Steve? I want you to draw me like one of your French girls."

_What? Is this another pop culture reference I don't understand? Probably. _

"What?" he asked, puzzled, but still not shaken in his resolve.

"Titanic. Motion Picture. 1998. Write that down."

He sighed in fake exasperation as he pulled out his list from his pocket and added 'Titanic, Movie, 1998' to the bottom of it.

She chuckled. "What do you want me to do?"

"Whatever you were doing before I started, don't let me bother you…"

"Well, you are. You're staring at me."

"Not at you per se…just…around you…"

She went back to her book, 'Allegiant', it said on the cover.

"Is that good? That book?" asked Steve.

"It is…but I have a feeling it's going to break my heart…just not sure how…" she said absently, reading to a stopping point and closing the book again. "I thought you weren't going to bother me."

"I got lonely," he grinned. "Should I read it?"

"If you want…it's a dystopian trilogy, this is the last one."

"I like dystopian novels."

"I'm sure you'd like this actually. I'm trying to finish it so Darcy and I can discuss it. She is terrible at spoiling the ends of things for me, so I'm trying to read it really fast so she doesn't have to hold it in for so long."

Steve chuckled, "Darcy's really something isn't she?"

"She certainly is," Alice agreed.

They were silent for a while. Alice didn't pick up her book though. She stirred her tea and took a sip.

"Are you seeing anyone Steve?" she asked quietly.

_Can't tell you…_The image of pale blue eyes suddenly encompassed his thoughts… If he wasn't careful, he'd start drawing HER instead of Alice.

He felt the corners of his mouth tug upwards, giving him away.

"Who is it?"

"Didn't say I was seeing anyone."

"You're smiling, though."

"Can't I smile? Is it a crime?"

"No…it's just…odd that you chose THAT specific moment to smile…" she trailed off, grinning mischievously. "Is it Natasha?"

He scoffed, "No, Natasha is too much woman for me."

_Natasha is too much woman for anyone…_ he thought to himself amusedly.

"So you admit that there is someone…it's just not Natasha…"

"Darn. You found me out," he said sardonically.

"Is it that girl in accounting? The one Darcy used to date?"

Steve laughed, "Nope. She's ONLY into women."

"So you tried and got shot down…" Alice grinned.

"Not me. CLINT. She was very polite about it, though."

"Are you Clint's wingman or something?"

"Or something," Steve chuckled. "I don't actually spend much time with Clint."

"Hmm…so it's probably someone at SHIELD, though."

Steve shrugged. "I don't know…"

"Even if I guess you won't tell me, will you?"

"Tell you what?"

She sighed in frustration. "Are you almost done there?"

"Getting there. You're awfully impatient."

She propped her elbow up on the countertop and leaned forward onto her hand. "What made you decide to draw me?"

He shrugged, "I thought Bruce might like it."

Alice smiled widely at that. "He probably would…I guess."

"You guess…you won't let him have a photograph of you for his desk," he said accusingly.

"He's never asked for one!"

Steve laughed, "Do you guys talk EVER? Or is it all just…" he looked at her knowingly, "Hanky-panky?"

Alice rolled her eyes, "It's not all 'hanky-panky'," she finger quoted. "I dunno…it's just easier if we…don't talk, you know…I feel like he…isn't…DOESN'T get me sometimes. I just…" she shook her head. "Know what? It's just me being weird. We're fine."

_Doesn't sound like it,_ Steve thought to himself. He decided to change the subject.

"Pretty much done…just need to finish the shading in the background…" He flipped his sketch pad around to show her. "You kept moving, so I had to pick the pose you were in the longest…"

She smiled, reaching out to take it for a closer look. "It looks great. Good likeness…Thanks, Steve."

"I'll finish it up and pass it on to Bruce…unless you want it?"

"What would I do with a drawing of myself?" she laughed hollowly. "Thanks, though."

"Don't mention it," he said.

"I'm gonna go on back to the apartment, wait for Bruce to get home…"

"See you tomorrow morning for our run, right?"

"Right," she waved as she walked down the hall.

Steve went ahead and put the finishing touches on the picture, trying in vain to take the sadness out of her eyes. He knew it wasn't his business, but he was still worried about both of them.

He got up to take the finished sketch down to Bruce in the lab. It was almost dinner time and he had a date with Maria.

* * *

**Author's Note: **

**Did I just...Yes I did. I shipped Captain Hill. I'm not ashamed. (Although I don't know why I would be...) I just think they'd be perfect together, that their personalities would mesh well. That they could make each other laugh and sleep in on Sunday mornings. That's all I look for in a good ship. Sunday mornings. 3 **

**Anywho, I stuck a TEENY bit of Brulice angst in there, pretty much just to show how their friends notice and are worried. **

**Also, got Steve drawing, which is LITERALLY my favorite thing about him, and it hardly ever gets written about. (Probably because it's super hard to write about the drawing process, at least for me.) **

**As always, I don't own any of the Marvel Universe, but I do own Alice. **

**Please R&R!**


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